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Moncler Group said revenues climbed 8 per cent in the first half of 2024, to €1.23 billion versus €1.14 billion in the first half of 2023, beating expectations and bucking a wider industry slowdown.
Moncler brand revenues were up 11 per cent to €1.04 billion, driven by direct-to-consumer sales across regions. It’s the first time Moncler has exceeded the €1 billion mark in the first half of the year. Asia drove the majority of Moncler’s sales at 49 per cent, with sales in the region were up 12 per cent year-on-year to €513 million. EMEA also saw 12 per cent growth, and the Americas were up 7 per cent.
Stone Island was more sluggish: revenues were down 6 per cent for the half to €188.9 million. Like Moncler, the brand saw strong growth in Asia, up 20 per cent year-on-year. EMEA, Stone Island’s largest market, was down 12 per cent to €129 million, and the US (Stone Island’s smallest market) fell 22 per cent to €13 million on the wholesale channel decline.
In the second quarter, Moncler saw an 5 per cent uptick year-on-year to €336.6 million, while Stone Island revenues were down 4 per cent to €75.9 million (both at current exchange rates).
Strong results in Asia come as most other luxury brands falter in China. Chief business strategy and global market officer Roberto Eggs highlighted Japan and Mainland China as key growth drivers, as well as Korea, for the Moncler brand. “We have a very good team, and a very good understanding of the Chinese consumer,” Eggs told investors. Japan outperformed, he added, attributed to the surge in tourism. Approximately 30 per cent of business in Japan is currently done by tourists.
Moncler Group’s performance was in line with that of Q1, which saw Asia turbocharge Moncler’s strong growth, and the wholesale channel drag Stone Island’s performance down. Overall, the group posited a resilient performance relative to many of its peers. So far this earnings season, companies including Kering, Hugo Boss and Burberry saw sales declines, while Richemont and LVMH saw very slight upticks of 1 per cent. On Wednesday’s call, a Goldman Sachs analyst flagged that Moncler’s strong China performance was a bright spot and a “fantastic result” among Q2 earnings reports.
The same goes for the US. “It’s a long-term investment we have in the Americas,” said Eggs. “We know that we are underpenetrated.” The plan is to add to the 45 existing stores in the region, he said, as well as evolving and updating the business model.
Looking to the next quarter, Eggs flagged that July and August are considered low season in terms of sales, so cautioned analysts not to take the trend as an indication or a proxy for the rest of the year. “The two regions outperforming currently are EMEA and Japan. In the light of the current environment and the ongoing sector normalisation, we should not expect Q3 performance to be materially different from the one we discussed for Q2.”
The Olympics may also have a negative impact in terms of Asian tourists in Paris, Eggs cautioned. “We have seen — and I refer to my experience of London 2012 — that in the few weeks before the start of the Olympics, you usually see a decrease of the usual tourists coming to buy luxury. The tourists that are going to come for the Olympic Games are usually lower spenders that are buying more entry price,” he said. “But time will tell us that. And let’s say a location like London may benefit from some of the tourists that are usually planning to go to Paris. So London could be a good surprise for the third quarter.”
Correction: The article was updated to reflect that Eggs referred to ‘lower spenders’ visiting for the Olympics.
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